Happily Ever After?
by magical-mystery-girl
Summary: After the war it wasn't as easy for some people to get back to the way they were as it was for others. Hermione still has frequent nightmares that are impossible to wake her up from. Sirius finds out and decides to help in the only way he can,but he's not so sure how Hermione will feel about it. Is there a Happily Ever After in their future, or more nightmares and heartache?
1. Are You Saying Hermione's Lying?

**Disclaimer: As you may have noticed, this is a fanfiction…a **_**fan**_**fiction…as in I am a **_**fan**_** writing **_**fiction**_**. I am not a famous multi-millionaire, who has written seven **_**amazing**_** books and been involved in eight **_**amazing **_** movies…if I was I wouldn't be writing this…here…I'd be writing it for out there….for money…cause I'm greedy like that… **

**A/N: Anyway…this is a one shot, that like most of my other one shots has taken on a life of its own and become a four chapter story…or five if I decide to post the epilogue as a separate chapter…who knows, we'll see. So, I know it's been a while, and this story has been in the making for about a year and half now, and I only just got the inspiration to finish it today. So now that it is completed I have decided to post it. Hopefully you like it! Anywho…enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

**MiniA/N: also, a reviewer who has read a few of my stories commented that I seem to have a lot of similar themes and ideas in my stories, such as Draco Malfoy actually being good and somewhat friendly with the DA members and the idea that the DA played a HUGE part in the war (much bigger than JK Rowling gives them credit for)…this is true. I like the character Draco, and I really enjoy writing him, so for the most part it is cannon for my stories to have him as a good character who typically is very close (brother/sister) with Hermione. So with that in mind, I'll leave you to enjoy the story. Sorry if this bothers anyone.**

**Happily Ever After:  
Are You Saying Hermione's a Liar?**

**Z-z-z-z-Z**

A shill scream pierced the still silence of the night, shattering whatever peace had resided in the old Grimmauld Place. Doors opened and footsteps clattered as another terrified scream tore through the house, and like many others Sirius Black was up and running, wand in hand, long before his conscious mind caught up with his actions. All he knew was that screaming meant that they must be under attack, he could fathom no other reason for someone to be in such terror if they weren't under attack. Rounding the corner before his feet were finished thundering down the stairs, he was unsurprised to find the rest of the Order was also awake and appearing panicked as they all stood outside the room.

His feet slowed as he realized just what room they were standing in front of, "That's Hermione's room!" he stated dumbly. His eyes locked on the door as his world seemed to slow dramatically to focus completely on getting to Hermione.

An arm suddenly appeared in front of him holding him back, "_That's Hermione's room_!" he repeated pushing forward, surprise waking his mind up when he realized he was being held back. Looking to his left he found himself face to face with his oldest friend.

"Yes it is," Remus agreed with him, his eyes worried, "But no one can seem to get in without being hurt."

Sirius shook his head, trying to wake himself up, "What do you mean?" he demanded, moving around Remus' arm to get closer to the door.

Remus followed him cautiously to make sure he didn't proceed to do anything stupid, like try to open the door, "What I mean," he stated clearly, relaxing a bit as Sirius came to a stop just outside the door, "Is that the door has been warded to hex anyone who would try to enter the room. Charlie and Dora figured that out the hard way. No one has been able to get in, both Bill Weasley, a leading curse breaker," he added as if Sirius needed reminding, "and Kingsley, a leading _Auror_," again with the emphasis of the man's previous experience, "have tried opening that door, and neither one of them have even remotely made it without getting hurt."

Sirius turned his concerned eyes on Remus, "Why would Hermione have wards up on her room?" he asked, "What if they aren't her wards? What if someone else is in there with her?" suddenly Sirius snapped back around and nearly flew into the door before Remus could stop him.

"I _know_ Sirius!" Remus grunted as he jerked Sirius back away from the door, "But _no one has been able to get in unhurt!_ Don't you think we are all just as concerned about Hermione?! not to mention the fact that this is Ginny's room as well!" another scream split the air and everyone winced.

Sirius' face drained of what was left of its color, "I forgot about Ginny," he murmured, stunned, "Where is Harry?" his head jerked up and his eyes flicked around the group of surrounding Order members, "Where _is _Harry?" he repeated noticing that his godson was in fact not in the group of concerned peoples surrounding Hermione and Ginny's room "In fact, where are any of the DA members?" more screams came from the room and Sirius suddenly became aware of the fact that he was shaking, a lot.

"Someone get the bloody door _open!_" he snapped his attention back on the door, his mind was overwhelmed with the need to protect Hermione. Every fiber of his being was straining to get through the door in front of him so that he could sweep Hermione up in his arms and protect her.

Eyeing the door carefully Sirius raised his wand, intent on obliterating the door if necessary. Before his wand could cast the hex he had been thinking a sharp voice spoke from down the hallway, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice commanded causing everyone to turn and face the tall, platinum blonde haired form of Draco Malfoy.

"What?" Sirius hissed at his cousin, "Hermione is in there _screaming_," another long loud scream broke through the door as if to emphasize Sirius' point, "She is being _hurt_, and you're worried about—"

Draco came to stop directly in front of Sirius, "She's not," he stated clearly, interrupting Sirius.

"Excuse me?" Sirius exclaimed, his eyes clenching shut for a moment as he fought with everything in him not to fall to his knees in despair as Hermione screamed again.

Draco tore his tired eyes away from the door, "Hermione is not being hurt," he clarified, his face was serious and worn looking but he appeared otherwise unconcerned, "She's just in the middle of a nightmare."

Sirius pointed at the door, "Nightmares don't make people scream like this!" he snapped, "So how can you be so sure?" his voice was tight as he attempted to force himself to stop shaking and calm down. Logically he knew that if there was anyone in the house that would be as worried about Hermione as he was it would be Draco, and if Draco didn't appear to be concerned about the screaming then he shouldn't either. Unfortunately logic didn't stop his temper from rising as each scream from Hermione entered his ears and painfully tore at his mind and heart.

Seeing Sirius struggle for control Remus spoke up, "Hermione said she hasn't had a nightmare since a year after the war was over," he stated, "Why would her nightmares return now?"

Draco snorted, "If Hermione hasn't had a bad dream since a year after the end of the war then I'm a three headed basilisk," he rolled his eyes, "Just because you don't hear her screaming every night doesn't mean she doesn't have nightmares anymore; nor does her telling you she doesn't have nightmares anymore mean she doesn't."

"Are you saying Hermione's a liar?" Sirius growled, his eyes glaring at the younger man.

Draco met him eye to eye, "If she's telling you that she hasn't had nightmares in that long then yes, I guess I _am_ calling Hermione a liar; at least about this."

"Oh for the love of Merlin, quit being cryptic Draco!" Molly Weasley suddenly snapped, "What exactly are you saying? What do you know?"

Draco turned to look at Molly, not at all surprised by her exclamation, "What I'm saying," he stated slowly, "And what I _know_, is that Hermione is currently in the middle of a nightmare she is very much unlikely to wake up from anytime soon. Therefore it is pointless for all of you to be standing around when there is _nothing_ you can do."

Molly's stance softened as she took in Draco's worn appearance, somehow it had gone unnoticed earlier, but now it was perfectly clear that the young man in front of her was tired and drained, "There has to be something we can do," she murmured softly, her worry now extending to Draco who she had easily adopted into her family once she had found out about his parents disowning him, "We can't just leave her like this."

Shaking his head Draco ran his fingers roughly through his straggly hair, "There is _nothing_ you can do Molly," he said firmly, "Look around, do you see any of the other DA members here?" absently everyone did so, some even seeming surprised to find out that the DA was in fact not around, "Don't you think that if there was anything that could be done they would be here?"

Arthur was the first to voice the question on everyone's mind, "Why _aren't_ any of them here?" he asked quietly, looking back at Draco.

Draco's expression clearly showed his exasperation, and the constant screaming wasn't helping; not that he didn't sympathize with Hermione's pain—he did, all too well, but this was getting ridiculous. Did they honestly think that he would be telling them to go away if they could actually be helpful if they stayed? "They aren't here because they realize there is nothing they can do. Now I would greatly appreciate it if all of you would just go. To. Bed!"

Reluctantly those of the Order who weren't exactly close with Hermione began to dwindle until only Minerva, Molly, Arthur, Remus and Sirius remained. Draco clenched his fist as Hermione screamed again, and his eyes squinted shut, her screaming brought back many memories that he hated remembering. "Molly please," he pleaded, "Both Hermione and Ginny are fine," he forced himself to give a nonchalant shrug, "I wouldn't even be surprised if Ginny was completely unaware of what was going on."

Arthur frowned, "Of course Ginny is aware of what is going on!" he exclaimed, concern evident in his eyes, "She's probably worrying about why we haven't managed to come in yet!"

All of Draco's patience suddenly floo out the window and his face hardened, "Even if Ginny _is_ awake right now, she is _fully aware_ that one, Hermione would have warded the door so heavily that _Dumbledore himself_ wouldn't be able to get through without the password, and two, that there is _absolutely nothing_ any of _you_ can do to help Hermione. Now _go_. _To_. _Bed_!" Draco snapped pointing his finger down the hall, "You can rant and rave and carry on all you'd like tomorrow morning."

Molly gasped in offence at the harsh and commanding tone in Draco's voice, but reluctantly moved to return to her room with Arthur nonetheless, silently vowing that this wouldn't be the end of their conversation. Draco watched them go with impatience clear in his eyes before turning to Remus and Sirius who were the only two remaining. They were sharing a look, one where Sirius was giving a dark glare as if daring Remus to try and get him to move, and Remus was returning an indiscernible look of his own.

Draco gave a sigh and moved towards them, "Sirius can stay but you should go to bed too Moony," his voice suddenly matching his exhausted appearance, "I promise Hermione is fine, this happens more often than I think you both would like to know, and not just to Hermione."

The two Marauders stared at Draco in surprise, "What are you talking about?" Remus murmured, temporarily overlooking the comment about Sirius staying.

Draco hesitated, but realizing that no one was going to go anywhere unless he said something he gave another sigh and shook his head, "We all have nightmares," he stared, "they can get so bad sometimes that they can lead to yelling and screaming in our sleep."

"But we haven't heard any of you scream—" Sirius started.

Draco cut him off, "Yes, but that is only because we have all been warding our rooms so that no one can hear if we do. Before I go to bed at night I check all the wards in the house to make sure they are all up so that you don't overhear; Potter didn't want you to worry about him, nor did Hermione, Ginny or Weasley. I was so tired tonight I skipped my ward checks and went straight to bed. Apparently Hermione was also tired as she forgot her silencing wards."

"You all put up silencing wards?" Remus clarified, looking upset that he hadn't known about the reoccurring nightmares that the DA members seemed to be having.

The younger man nodded, "Yes, that's why no one else is out here, they don't hear anything, and therefore they aren't worried. Sometimes we don't need them, but the nightmares can be triggered by just about anything so we put them up every night just in case. Hermione gets the worst of them out of all of us though."

Draco sighed looking at the door and cringing along with Sirius as Hermione yelled some indiscernible words, "Her nightmares get so bad that nothing you can do will wake her up, waving light in her face, dumping cold water on her, nothing. We've all tried something as some point. Ginny puts up her own wards on her bed so that she can't hear Hermione," the tortured look in Draco's eyes told Remus and Sirius that he wished he could help her somehow, "We wanted to tell you two, I mean we tell you everything else so why not this right? But we all knew there was very likely nothing you could do to help us."

"What about dreamless sleep potions?" Sirius asked almost desperately, "why don't you try them?"

Draco began shaking his head the second Sirius mentioned the potion, "We did, but it got to the point where several of us were taking it every night and getting addicted; and like any drug, you only need a little for it to work when you start out, but then your body grows immune and starts craving more and more. The second Hermione figured out that the potion was addictive we all quit using it. Weasley even went through some severe withdrawals," Draco shrugged, "To be honest I really don't know how bad everyone else gets them, it's just a shared knowledge that we all have them."

"But it's been four _years_ since the end of the war! What could possibly still be bothering you all so much that you have nightmares like this?" Sirius gestured towards the door and the now moaning woman behind it.

Draco gave a heavy sigh, "Ask me tomorrow and maybe I'll explain, but right now," Hermione's moans escalated into another round of screaming leading all three men to wince, "the only other solution I can think of to help Hermione to sleep right now is for Sirius to come with me into the room to try and calm her down."

Remus shared a surprised look with his best friend, "Why do you need Sirius to come with you?"

Draco looked at Sirius, "Because she loves him," he stated bluntly making both men stare at him, "Oh come on, you honestly think she would spend so much time trying to figure out a way to bring you back if she _didn't_ love you?" he snorted, "Not to mention the endless hours she has spent since doing anything she could to get noticed by you. Not that she knows I know mind you," Draco added with a small sly smile, "but the point is, I would bet every last galleon I own that if anyone can help Hermione when she is in the middle of one of these nightmares it would be Sirius. Now can we stop dillydallying around and help her please?"

Sirius waved his arms at the door in a gesture to continue and Remus slowly gave a nod as he began to back away to follow his wife back to bed, "We'll talk about this tomorrow," he stated seriously as he looked Draco in the eye, "It isn't normal for you to be having such frequent nightmares this long after the fact. Then there's also the fact that Molly will be less likely to forget or forgive anything about this night by tomorrow."

Wearily running his fingers through his messy hair, Draco nodded, "I figured; to be honest I don't think any of us expected the secret to last this long," Remus nodded again and with one last look at Sirius he was gone up the stairs to his own room with Tonks.

Turning around to face the door just as Hermione began screaming again Draco reached out and muttered something under his breath before touching the knob and pushing the door open. The sound seemed to increase almost immediately and Draco winced, "Well apparently she remembered some of the silencing charms," he muttered as he and Sirius entered the room before turning around and warding the door with the charms that should have been up in the first place.

But Sirius didn't even hear him; the second he was through the doorway every part of him had honed in on Hermione as he rushed to her side. The brunette was tossing and turning, a cold sweat breaking out over her face, and her sheets tangled precariously around her. Sirius reached her bed just as she let out another loud string of panicked screams and futile jerking, "Hermione!" Sirius called as he took the last few steps towards her bed and touched one of her clenched fists urgently.

Hermione's scream died sharply and was replaced with a small whimper, "Sirius," the girl's voice was terrified as she turned on her side and cradled Sirius' hand in both of her own and pulled it close to her chest.

Numbly, as if surprised, Sirius bent to kneel next to Hermione's bed, allowing his hand to be used as a lifeline of sorts as his wide silver eyes turned to look in surprise at the blonde across the room. Draco looked up in surprise as well from where he had been checking Ginny's wards to look back at Sirius with a shocked expression that soon slid into a smirk, "That's what I thought," he murmured, his eyes flicking between Hermione's now peaceful expression, Sirius' own shocked but loving appearance, and the location of their clasped hands.

Draco finished checking Ginny's wards and came over to stand next to Sirius, "Looks like you'll be spending the night here cousin," he stated softly, "you may want to crawl into bed and make yourself comfortable," Draco gave Sirius a genuine smile as he moved towards the door, "Oh, and for the record," he spoke from the now open doorway, "She's never calmed down that fast or that completely before," he paused, "Just thought you'd like to know."

Sirius dragged his eyes away from Hermione's face to look at the cousin he had been so reluctant to accept, "Thank you," he murmured in a gravelly voice, "I just…thank you."

Draco shook his head, loose hairs flying in his eyes, "No," he stated, "Thank _you_. Hermione might actually make it through the rest of the night without nightmares because of you; so thank you," Draco turned and headed out the door, murmuring a soft "Good night," as he shut and warded the door behind him.

Sirius gave a deep sigh as he watched the door close before he turned back to look at Hermione. He had this feeling that she wasn't going to like waking up with him in her bed, but he really didn't see any other option. There was no way he was leaving her to go back to her nightmares, not even if his life depended on it. He shook his head gently at himself, no, he was going to take this opportunity and enjoy it; it may never happen again.

Careful not to disturb Hermione, Sirius slowly stood up and removed his hand so he could move to the other side of the bed that wasn't completely occupied by Hermione. He was surprised however, when the second the contact between their hands was severed Hermione began whimpering and calling his name softly in a terrified voice.

"Shh," he murmured, moving quickly to the other side of the bed and cautiously laying down beside her back, "I'm right here Princess," he murmured, slowly turning over on his side to touch her shoulder. Hermione's body seemed to stiffen as she felt his hand on her shoulder before she quickly relaxed and turned over to nestle into his side, placing her head on his chest.

A soft mumbled sigh of, "Sirius," was breathed out before Hermione seemed to return to her earlier state of peace.

Carefully Sirius tugged the blankets up around the both of them, before readjusting himself a little to be more comfortable. One arm snaked out around Hermione's shoulders to pull her closer to him protectively, and his fingers traced gentle circles on her bare arm as Sirius stared up at the ceiling, "I'm right here," he sighed once more before closing his eyes and shoving his worry and concern away in favor of a deep, comfortable sleep.

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**A/N: So…that was the first chapter…I hope it's off to a good start! Let me know what you think! (There's this great little box just down there that makes reviewing REALLY easy…)**


	2. How did Sirius end up in your bed?

**Disclaimer: Again, I do not own anything in this story but the plot…and maybe a few grammatical errors…maybe…those might belong to someone else too.**

**A/N: So here's the second chapter! I was going to update it yesterday, and then earlier today, but stupid college stuff just kept popping up and demanding my attention. So sorry for the delay, but I hope it was worth it! Read and review please, you have no idea how much they make my day!**

**Chapter 2:**

**So…how exactly **_**did**_** Sirius end up in bed with you?**

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Something beneath her head was moving.

And there was something else tightening ever so slightly around her waist.

A part of her wanted to groan and cry or throw a temper tantrum; why could she never have a normal night's sleep without nightmares like this infiltrating her dreams?

Hermione waited, adrenaline soaring through her body, for the moment when the pain would start. After all the last time she had been restrained like this she had been brutally…well, she didn't want to think about it, regardless of whether her mind was about to force her to relive those dreadful days or not.

The moving thing beneath her head rumbled a bit and Hermione tensed, waiting. Why was it so dark? When they had…well you know, they had wanted her to _see_, to _feel_ what they were doing to her; so this darkness was a new twist in her nightmares.

A bird chirped in the distance, and Hermione felt her eyes squeeze together as a bit of light fell on her face. Wait a minute, her eyes were closed! The thing beneath her moved again.

Hermione's eyes shot open surprised to find that it was morning and that she was still in her bed at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Something shifted under her again with a sigh, startling her into lifting her head…well she tried to lift _all_ of her, but whatever it was around her waist was pretty heavy and was holding her tightly.

Looking down Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat as she realized that the moving object beneath her head was none other than a sleeping and moderately snoring Sirius Black. Her eyes slowly trailed down his well defined bare chest to look at her waist, sure enough it was his strong, and may she mention _heavy_, arms that held her captive.

Hermione slowly forced her tense mussels to relax as she looked around the room in confusion. Yep, this was definitely her room; the door was still locked—Hermione lifted her hand carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping animagus, and checked the wards on the door—the wards were still intact; Ginny was…_not_ in her bed…Hermione sighed, she was going to get it later, she knew she would. There was no way Ginny had missed the fact that Sirius Black, Hermione's crush since she was, like, fifteen, was lying in bed with her, seeming completely content and at home with his arms around her waist and her head on his chest. Well, her head had _been _on his chest…

Hermione gave another small sigh before deciding that she had best enjoy the moment, as it was not likely to continue once Sirius woke up. Slowly Hermione lowered her head back down to rest it on Sirius' bare chest once more. Her eyes still wide open she tried to remember what had happened last night that led to Sirius ending up in her bed. She was fully clothed in the dark blue DA tank-top that had a dark red phoenix with its wings circled around the gold DA symbol, and her short black and white pajama shorts were still on, so nothing…untoward had happened last night.

Taking a deep breath Hermione focused her mind, replaying last night's events. They had all been up late, chatting with each other and catching up on what was going on in each other's lives. She had come to bed, changed her clothes, put up her wards and slipped into bed, alone.

Hermione let out a confused and almost frustrated sigh before she could stop herself and froze when she heard the noise, waiting for Sirius to wake up. When nothing happened she relaxed once more; she must have had a nightmare last night, well she always had nightmares, but it must have been one of those nightmares that could raise the dead and then kill them again with just the sheer amount of noise. Hermione winced; if Sirius had managed to hear it two stories up, then it was pretty much guaranteed that everyone else in the old house that hadn't had their own silencing wards up had heard her too.

Draco must have been the one to let Sirius into the room last night as it was he who was alerted every time someone's wards weren't working properly. But why was Sirius the only one in the room? She couldn't imagine that Molly would have given up trying to get into the room without much of a fight, nor could she see that Remus would have let Sirius handle her nightmares on his own.

Hermione knew from what her friends told her, that she had the worst nightmares out of all of them, and she was pretty sure she knew why. She also knew that no matter what any of them did, and considering that the twins had used the opportunity to try a lot, she would not wake up. Eventually they had all given up on trying to wake her up from her nightmares, and had simply allowed her to go night after night screaming and begging for the dreams to end. They were so real, almost like the scenes occurring in them were happening in real life once more.

Often she woke up from the nightmares once they were over drenched in sweat and unable to go back to sleep for several more hours. But last night she hadn't woken up at all. In fact, she barely even remembered any nightmares at all; at least not from after the first round early on in the night. Hermione thought about this carefully, did Sirius somehow have something to do with the absence of her normal nightmares?

Actually, now that she thought about it, she did remember being in the middle of one of the worst nightmares she'd ever experienced when she felt something or someone touch her hand. Nearly immediately a sense of peace had flooded her mind; ending the nightmare almost immediately.

The heartbeat under her ear picked up pace and Hermione knew that Sirius was waking up. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, she couldn't be blamed for her actions in her sleep right? Carefully breathing deep and long Hermione waited as Sirius slowly became aware of his settings.

The arms around her waist loosened momentarily as she felt Sirius lift his head from the pillow without making a move to get up further. One hand lifted from her waist to gently brush away some errant curls from her face, "What are we going to do with you Princess?" he asked her softly before lowering his head back to the pillow and returning his arm to its earlier position around her waist.

Hermione inwardly beamed. No one knew, but Hermione absolutely adored Sirius' nickname for her. It had come about one day as Sirius had found her in the library reading a muggle book about various princesses and their happily ever afters. He had asked her what she was reading, and after she had blushingly told him the title and given a brief explanation about the book he had gone quiet for a long time as he contemplated her as she read.

Eventually he asked her what she found so intriguing about the book; to which she responded by telling him about how when she was little, her life had seemed so mundane. Her parents had unintentionally discouraged her from playing make believe and making stories up, so she had grown up with only facts and figures and absolute truths. On her eighth birthday her Nana Rosie had given her that very book about princesses and magic and make believe. Much to her parents dismay it quickly became the most read book in Hermione's home, she read it over and over and over, hoping one day that something similar to her stories would happen to her.

At first she had simply realistically hoped for a man, a prince charming if you will, who would love her and treat her like a princess, but then when her Hogwarts letter showed up she had been astonished to find out that not only did magic exist, but that she herself was capable of doing magic. She still wanted that happily ever after with the man of her dreams, her own personal Prince Charming, and knowing that magic did exist helped strengthen her resolve to find that perfect someone. But, as she explained to Sirius that night, she had come to realize by the end of the war that happily ever afters didn't really exist, she would never be a princess, and that magic was the only thing she had left to cling to anymore.

Sirius had stared at her for a long moment before promptly declaring that if it was the last thing he did he would change her mind; that someday she would find someone who would treat her like a princess, whether she believed herself to be one or not, and that the two of them, meaning her prince—though even then she had wished it was him—would in fact have a happily ever after. From that moment on Sirius had taken to referring to her as Princess, in order to remind her of their conversation and the hope he had tried to instill in her.

Sirius' hand began tracing small circles on her waist where her tank top had ridden up a little, causing a small chill to flitter through her limbs in pleasure. The two remained where they were for several long minutes before Hermione's stomach rumbled, both alerting Sirius to the fact that she was awake and letting them both know that she was hungry. Hermione's face turned red and her eyes stayed closed, though more out of embarrassment now than faking sleep.

Sirius let out a low chuckle that reverberated through his chest, "How long have you been awake princess?" he asked with laughter in his voice, sounding ridiculously pleased.

"A while," Hermione murmured sheepishly, moving quickly to sit up only to find Sirius' arms were still clasped tightly around her.

Sirius gave a small laugh as he watched Hermione struggle to sit up before she gave up and rested her head back on his chest. Sirius moved one of his hands slowly up her back to smooth over her hair, "Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?" he asked her a short while later.

"Yes," Hermione replied sarcastically, "Because bushy, curly hair, that looks like a cat tried to make a nest in it just screams attractive," she scoffed shaking her head as best she could with it resting on his chest.

Sirius smirked, "Maybe not to some people, but to me it screams 'I've just been shagged within an inch of my life, be jealous!'" Sirius laughed as Hermione lifted her hand to smack him lightly on his stomach, her blush heating her skin and his, "I think it looks wonderful Princess," he murmured seriously once he finished laughing at her embarrassment.

Hermione shook her head again, "And I think _you_, Mr. Padfoot, must be very much blind to think such a thing," she told him seriously in response, only to find herself being rolled onto her back as Sirius hovered above her.

"Or perhaps it is you, Miss Midnight," he used her own animagus nickname, "Who is blind to what _I_ see," he smirked, seeing her vulnerable position; not many knew Hermione well enough to know she was incredibly ticklish, and those who did know were hardly ever brave enough to incite her wrath by tickling her. But you see, Sirius could never get enough of Hermione's laugh, so he bravely took this opportunity to inflict his tickling fingers all across her person, knowing all the right places to make her giggle like a school girl.

Sirius couldn't stop the laugh that echoed out of his chest as Hermione squirmed, squealed, giggled and laughed, begging Sirius to stop all the while. He tickled her for several more moments before slowly coming to a stop still hovering over her, "There's the smile I love so much," he murmured quietly, lifting one hand to trace a thumb softly over her lips as he sobered, "You had me absolutely terrified last night Hermione," he told her, "You were screaming so loud and I…" Sirius trailed off, his silver eyes searching Hermione's increasingly panicked hazel eyes.

"How many heard?" Hermione asked him timidly a few seconds later.

Sirius shook his head, some of his shoulder length shaggy black hair falling his face, "I think it would be easier to tell you who didn't hear," he tried to joke, still recalling the absolute panic and helplessness he had felt last night, "And that was pretty much everyone in the DA except Draco," he told her, flicking the hair that had fallen, out of his eyes.

Hermione's eyes squeezed shut involuntarily, "Even Mrs. Weasley?" she moaned softly, with a nod of his head Sirius confirmed her suspicions, "Today isn't going to be pleasant is it?" she asked him rhetorically.

"A day can only be as pleasant as you want it to be Princess," he sagely said, chuckling as Hermione gave him a look that told him he clearly wasn't helping, "But no, I do believe Molly has every intention of getting to the bottom of things, and that will most certainly mean an interrogation worthy of a well trained auror that will last for hours on end until you spill your guts," he laughed a little at his mugglish phrase, "And even if she doesn't get the whole story out of you lot, be assured Moony and I will. You kids are too young to be going through all of this alone, and it has gone on for far too long as it is," Sirius gently traced his fingers across her jaw, uncertain of how his motions were being received.

Hermione closed her eyes in momentary pleasure as his fingers smoothed across her skin, she wasn't certain why he was touching her the way he was, and speaking to her in such a caring tone, like she suspected one would speak to a lover; nor did she still understand much beyond the fact that she was beginning to have that terrible sinking feeling in her stomach that had kept her alive during the war, warning her of impending danger.

"I guess we better get up then shouldn't we?" Hermione sighed, lifting her hand to push against his chest in a half hearted attempt to get him off of her, though truth be told she was quite comfortable at the moment.

Sirius used his free hand to cover the hand that was pressed against his chest, "But I don't want to," he whined, finally moving over to lie on his back beside her in the bed, his hand still trapping hers against his chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'd rather get this all over and done with as soon as possible if it's all the same to you Sirius," she half heartedly gave a small humorless laugh, pretending not to be as panicked as she was. With the exception of her very close friends in the DA no one knew what had truly happened to her over the course of the year she spent on the run with Harry and Ron, and she really didn't want to tell anyone about it now.

"It will be a good thing Hermione," Sirius tried to convince her, "Talking about things helps you to move on."

Hermione shot upwards to sit up on the bed, turning her head to stare at Sirius incredulously, "Don't you think I've talked to people?" she demanded, "Each and every one of the DA knows about my dreams and most of them know in detail. Harry, Ron and Draco even have the same dreams just from different perspectives! I can't exactly go to some psychiatrist and tell them all about it! What makes you think that any of you can do anything about our nightmares? If we've suffered with them this long I am pretty certain they aren't going away, no matter how much we talk about them, no matter how much I wish and hope and _pray_ that they will…" Hermione trailed off, tears were now beginning to fall down her face.

Sirius sat up slowly and turned to face her, seeming incredibly stunned about her outburst, "That's not what I meant," he attempted to console her, his hands reaching out involuntarily to wipe away some of her tears, "I just thought—"

"And do you think anyone else is going to have those same thoughts?" Hermione snapped, mentally trying to tell the rest of her to move away from him, "The idea that our nightmares, _my_ nightmares simply continue because I haven't _talked_ to someone? And that somehow, talking to someone will just magically make things all better!" Hermione finally managed to move as she stood up; Sirius mirrored her actions on the other side of the bed.

His head was shaking back and forth, it seemed Hermione had been thinking about this for some time in order to have such strong, negative feelings and opinions on the matter, "Hermione," he tried to get her attention and stop her rant, "Hermione!" he tried again, but she just kept going, "Hermione!" he shouted one last time, coming around the bed to grab both of her wrists in his hands. This gave her pause as she stared at the places his hands were touching hers, "I'm just worried about you," he told her softly, "I want you to know that you can talk to us, any of us, about anything, whenever and wherever you'd like."

"By forcing me to talk to you today, downstairs, while being interrogated by Molly Weasley, who isn't half as capable of listening and understanding my _valid points_ on the matter as you are?" Hermione scoffed, "That sounds very relaxing Sirius."

She had a point, "Molly also just wants to do everything she can to help you, but we both find it difficult to fight something, even as seemingly small as nightmares, if we don't know what we are up against," his grip on her wrists slackened.

Hermione dropped her head a little, "I know," she murmured, seeming to have finally let his words sink in, taking the fight out of her, "But they are just so…._horrible_," she whispered, "I don't think I can."

Sirius moved his hands to her face, tilting it upwards to look at him, "You can because you are a _very_ strong woman Hermione Granger, you have done more, seen more, felt more and simply _been_ more than any woman I have ever known," Sirius made sure their eyes connected for this next part, he wanted her to know just how serious he was about his next words, "And I promise you," he stated firmly, "that I will not leave your side through any of it. I will be right there, ready to help you the second you ask for it Hermione, and nothing anyone can do or say will stop me," Sirius was about to ask her if she understood the implications of what he was saying when he found his arms full of a bushy haired witch.

"Thank you," her muffled voice spoke to him from its place against his chest.

He gave a small wistful smirk, "Any time Princess," he replied squeezing her tighter for a moment before letting go, "Now, I am going to go change, and so are you, then we will meet downstairs, sit down to breakfast and prepare for the inquisition together alright?"

Hermione gave a small nod and a smile as he backed away from her before finally turning and disappearing through the door. Hermione gave a heavy sigh as she turned and sat down on her bed once more, staring out the wide window at the blue sky. Today was definitely wasn't going to be her day. Eventually deciding to make the best of things she rose and began to get ready for the day.

Quickly pulling on a pair of pale yellow cut off shorts and a one shouldered black shirt, she ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a messy bun held to the back of her head by an elegant hair stick Sirius had given to her for her birthday last year and her wand. She stared down at her feet for a few seconds before deciding to just go barefoot until she had no choice but to put shoes on.

She nervously approached her bedroom door, hesitating for a moment before opening it in quick jerky movements and heading down the millions of stairs to enter the recently remodeled kitchen/dining area. As she opened the door most of the conversations in the room stopped as everyone turned to look at her, though all for different reasons. The concern from both sides was obvious, but it was clear that the Order members were staring because they had all heard her last night, and the DA just wanted to see what everyone else was looking at.

A weak smile was then forced to her lips as she moved quietly to sit next to Harry and Neville. Just as she was about to sit down she noticed that Draco had appeared behind her in the kitchen doorway, looking far worse than she did. He gave a small grimace at the looks he was receiving from the adults at the table, particularly Molly Weasley, but decided to ignore them all until he was done eating. Sitting down across from Hermione, next to Remus, he gave a small smirk.

'_So how did it go with Sirius last night?_' he asked in her mind, opening their mental way of communicating with each other; it had been a skill Draco had brought to the DA when he'd secretly joined years ago, and it had proven itself useful many times over.

Hermione frowned at him, and the rest of the DA members present quickly realized that they were speaking to each other through their skills as accomplished occlumens and legilimens and easily opened their own minds to the conversation, "_Rumor has it _you_ are the one I have to thank for me waking up in the same bed as him," _she snapped back, not really irritated.

"_Wait,"_ Neville's voice sounded in both their minds, causing them to look over at him, not really trying to block their thoughts from him, "_Why would Sirius be in your room last night? What happened?"_ he asked them.

Various heads began nodding, unaware that they had caught the attention of the Order members who were watching them all in confusion; all except Remus, who knew what was going on. Not that he was able to hear their thoughts, but years of being close friends with the younger members of the DA had served him well, and they had trusted him—and Sirius—enough to tell them that they were all very accomplished in the art of occlumency and legilimency.

"_Yeah, and why is everyone staring at Hermione and Malfoy like they are in trouble or something?" _Ron agreed, _"Did something happen last night that we don't know about?_"

Hermione and Draco shared a look, _"I'm not entirely sure what happened myself,"_ Hermione told them all, _"All I know is that I went to bed worn out and tired, and, might I add, very much _alone_ last night, and I woke up with my head on Sirius' chest in my bed."_

Remus watched the group with a small smile on his face, very much aware that no one else at the table had any idea that the younger group was having a silent conversation. His smile spread when he heard several of the DA members snort and snicker, and a quick look at Hermione was all he needed to guess what they were all laughing about.

He had been one of the first to recognize the fact that there was definitely something between Hermione and Sirius. He had noticed Hermione's crush long before Sirius had gone behind the veil, but upon the Marauder's return, it had become quite apparent that the feelings Hermione had for Sirius were being returned by Mr. Padfoot himself.

The two could argue with the best of them, so loudly and so vigorously that anyone in the same room as them quickly grew to understand that it would be best for their own personal safety if they up and left the room. Yet not minutes later, their infamous shouting matches could turn into friendly debates. Sirius had never been one to bask in the fact that he was very intelligent, and when he had it was always in some connection to a prank or some tactical plotting; but when it came to conversations with Hermione all bets were off. Remus was always amused by others reactions when they heard the arguments that Hermione and Sirius would have, some of their topics were so abstract that very few would have ever guessed that Sirius could hold such knowledge.

So it really hadn't surprised him last night to see the concern his best friend had shown for Hermione. Nor had it surprised him when Draco had asked that Sirius be the one to accompany him into Hermione's room last night; the fact that Sirius did not leave had also been noticed. Remus smirked as he took another bite, speak of the devil, he thought as Sirius Black himself appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

As Sirius entered the crowded kitchen his gaze sought out Hermione's of its own accord, he could barely keep from grinning as he noticed the serious and intense looks she and the other DA members were giving each other; he'd seen that look before. Judging by their expressions they were all sharing some silent conversation, and from the mischievous grins the twins were shooting him, he could guess that he was the main topic of conversation. It was times like this he really wished he could speak to them in the same way, but alas, it wasn't to be.

But just for the fun of it Sirius pretended he could talk to Hermione, he shouted her name loudly in his head and was about to continue on with some soliloquy about how much he loved her when Hermione's head shot up and whipped around to look at him.

"_Did you just try to call me?"_ Hermione's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Sirius eyes widened, and his words were forgotten as he gaped at her, how exactly did that work?

"_I guess not, carry on then, I'll stay out of your mind, sorry,"_ Hermione ducked her head, looking embarrassed; hoping that the longing she felt hadn't shown in her eyes.

To stunned to tell her not to go, Sirius moved numbly to drop down into a chair next on the other side of Remus, absently noting that Tonks must be taking care of Teddy or catching up on some sleep. Remus looked over at him with questions in his eyes and a knowing smirk on his face, but all Sirius could do was shake his head and elbow his friend in the side before loading his plate up with Molly's delicious looking breakfast.

"_So how exactly did Sirius end up in bed with you?" _Ginny asked curiously with a smirk, bringing Hermione back from staring at Sirius.

Fred and George grinned wickedly, "_Well you see little sister…"_

"_When a man and a woman love each other…"_

Ginny glared at the twins, "_Finish that statement and you will not enjoy the consequences,"_ she growled at them, making everyone laugh suddenly at the innocent, yet slightly terrified expressions of on the identical faces.

The adults returned their focus to the younger war heroes in surprise at their laughter, it seemed to come out of nowhere; but seeing no explanation for the laughter they returned to their own breakfasts. Hermione waited until the adults had gone back to their own things before responding to Ginny's question, "_I don't actually know how he got into my room let alone my bed,"_ she shook her head in confusion.

"_I let him in,"_ Draco stated, making everyone turn to look at him in surprise. He looked around at the different expressions on the other's faces; some of them were portraying various stages of betrayal. Draco had volunteered for the job of ward checker, and as such he was given the password to each of their wards, and now to hear that he had used those passwords without provocation or any real good reason gave some of them a sense of wariness and betrayal. Draco easily understood this, being a Slytherin had its moments, and so he went on to explain, "_Midnight here, was in the middle of a rather bad nightmare last night. Normally this isn't anything to be concerned about, no more than usual anyway, but last night it seems she forgot to put up all of her wards."_

Everyone was looking at Hermione in surprise, out of all of them she seemed the least likely to forget something as important as that, Draco came to her rescue soon enough, "_I guess you were so tired after your late conversations with Padfoot that you forgot to finish,"_ he commented, _"Because of this, by the time I was able to get to your room after being alerted that most of your wards weren't working properly, or in this case working at all, just about every member of the Order that is at the table right now was standing outside your room trying to figure out some way to get in."_

Draco paused for a second to let this sink in, watching as the DA members looked subtly at the older Order members, "_Charlie and Tonks were the ones who figured out your door was hexed, and Bill and Kingsley were busy trying to crack the few wards you did put up to no avail. Sirius was a raging mess and Remus was trying to console him while attempting not to charge the door himself. I came and let them all know that you were having a nightmare, and that there was nothing any of them could do. Within a few minutes I had them all convinced, with the exception of Padfoot and Moony, to go back to bed. Molly then firmly told me that the subject was not closed and that she was intending to bring the subject up again today."_

"_I then explained to Remus that you weren't the only one of us to suffer from nightmares, which let to him agreeing with Molly about talking about it today,"_ Draco gave a sympathetic grimace as they all gave muffled moans and groans, "_Personally I think that this may be what we need,"_ he tried to convince them, _"Maybe they know something about this that we haven't been able to find –"_

"_Unlikely,"_ the twins snorted, _"If you and Hermione can't find it, then it most likely doesn't exist,"_ they stated at the same time. It was moderately surprising for all involved way back when they were just figuring out how to communicate mentally, that the twins were more often than not thinking the same thoughts; they actually tended to hold back when speaking out loud. However, when it came to speaking in their minds it was practically impossible for them to stop projecting their identical thoughts.

Ron dropped his head to the table for a second before lifting it, "_So you're saying that my mother is preparing to interrogate all of us to figure out why we are all having nightmares?"_

Draco nodded, "_Pretty much,"_ he replied with a shrug.

"_With everything that we've seen and done, how exactly did they think that we weren't having nightmares about it all?"_ Harry asked, suddenly speaking up, causing everyone to turn to him.

Draco smirked and narrowed his eyes on Hermione, "_It seems as if Moony and Padfoot were under the impression that Midnight here hasn't had a nightmare since a year after the end of the war. Because of that, I assume that they just thought that meant that whatever happened had been dealt with and no longer bothered any of us."_

Now everyone was staring at Hermione incredulously. Hermione sheepishly shrugged her shoulders, _"I didn't want them to worry about me, about _us," she told them as an explanation.

After several moments of teasing glares everyone returned to their food, the conversation unofficially over.

"So who all is going to be coming to see me and Cannons play at the Quidditch World Cup next month?" Ron asked out loud, his mouth full of…something.

Harry raised his hand, "I was planning on it, you did manage to reserve a box for all of us, so why not?"

Ron blinked at him, "You mean besides the fact that this is the first year the Cannons have ever made it to the Quidditch Cup? Or besides the fact that I, your best friend and partner in crime fighting, am one of the _only_ reasons they have made it this far this year? Or the fact that—"

"We get it Weasley," Draco mocked, rolling his eyes, "You're a big important quidditch hero, congratulations, you don't need to keep going on and on and on and _on_," Draco looked at Hermione with a smirk, "It's a good thing you got out of that relationship while you still could," he told her with a mocking laugh, "Pretty soon Weasley's head will be too big to fit next to you, no matter where you are."

They all chuckled at that, sitting back comfortably as they all finished eating, ignoring the put out expression on Ron's face. Just as breakfast was finally being cleared away, the floo roared to life and a tall imposing black figure stepped out nimbly.

Hermione smiled as she moved forward to greet the man, "How lovely to see you Severus!" she exclaimed, carefully avoiding his personal space so as not to annoy him, "What brings you here?"

Severus gave Hermione a small nod in greeting, "I thought you may be able to enlighten me on the subject Miss Granger," he answered, looking over her shoulder to the others who were looking back at him, "I received an owl this morning declaring it most urgent that I come here as soon as possible," he paused, his hard gaze trailing over the various occupants of the room, "Well?" he snapped, his eyes narrowing, "Which one of you dunderheads wants to explain to me why I am here?"

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**A/N: So…I'm really really hoping you liked it…maybe enough for a tini tiny review? PLEASE? Let me know what you think! I love to hear from you!**


	3. Were You Asleep During the War?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I do, however own a pretty awesome set of…well…okay, so I don't own anything…but still…**

**A/N: Um…hi!...well this chapter is embarrassingly late! I am so sorry! I could give a whole spiel about all the reasons this is late, but other than I'm sorry I'm such a procrastinator there really aren't any…so…sorry again and I hope you enjoy! Review! (even if it's to tell me how horrible an updater I am ^_- )**

**A/N2: A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed to let me know that something was seriously messed up with the formatting…for some reason Fanfiction decided it really liked the name Hermione…weird…anyway, I hope it's fixed now! ^_^**

…**A/N 3: So…I AM SO SORRY for the late update I have been experiencing multiple technical difficulties…technology seems to hate me as of late. First the new chapter updated with weird formatting, then it replaced Remus and Draco's names with Hermione…which I originally thought was Fanfiction's fault, but then it turned out to be my own computer (traitor) and then school started so it took me forever to fix it, but after everything here it is…finally. So again, sorry and I hope you enjoy! **

**Happily Ever After  
Chapter 3:  
I'm sorry; were you all **_**asleep**_** during the war?**

**Z-z-z-z-z-Z**

Minerva was the first to speak, interrupting the perplexed looks the DA members and the two Marauders were giving each other, "Why don't we all move to the Phoenix room where it's more comfortable?" she asked in a way that told everyone that it was an order, not a suggestion.

The group navigated their way to the surprisingly large room that once hosted the annoying portrait of one Mrs. Black. The room had been one of the more surprising remodels that Sirius had returned to from his time in the veil. He had assumed—as had everyone else—that the room was a very small room that would never be of any use to anyone; however, upon the very muggle like removal of the portrait of his mother, it was discovered that the room was actually a rather large ballroom like area.

Tall windows stretched across one of the long walls, big enough that when the heavy and dusty curtains had been removed the room had been lit up. Several diamond chandeliers hung from the tall ceiling, though at the time they were covered in dust and cobwebs.

After much cleaning and remodeling the room had been transformed. The windows now stood tall and open, the chandeliers sparkled and the candles lit automatically upon entrance when dark. The two walls that were shorter in length were painted a dark gold color, and the wall with the windows along with the wall opposite them were a Gryffindor red. The walls that didn't hold the windows were covered in moving portraits of the members, both alive and passed, of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army.

Everyone had a portrait, Hermione, Sirius, Remus and Tonks, the Weasleys, Ron, Harry, James and Lily, Alice and Frank, several members of the DA; even Draco, Severus and, much to Sirius' surprise, Regulus. The floor was a lovely dark wood that matched the rest of the house, and several sofas, arm chairs, and rugs were scattered across the room. In the center of the room was a large sitting area made up of various armchairs and sofas in the different house colors, where the Order would hold their social meetings.

But what made this room the phoenix room was the ceiling; enchanted to show the sky like Hogwarts, there was something unique to it; no matter when you looked, there was always a phoenix to be found somewhere in the sky. When meetings would be held the phoenix, larger than a life sized phoenix, would hover in a circle of flames above the central area of the room, almost as if protecting those who sat there.

Slowly, one by one, everyone began to take their seats. Almost unconsciously the Order members seemed to have separated themselves from the DA members, or more specifically from Hermione. Remus and Sirius remained with the younger group of adults, taking their seats closer to the DA than the Order, almost protectively, though their protection was most certainly not needed, Sirius thought. Through many battles, both during the war and after, as they attempted to gather up the rogue Death Eaters, the DA members had proven themselves to be powerful and very skilled witches and wizards.

Hermione was the last to enter the room and come to the gathering, as she passed by Sirius to go and sit next to Harry, as that was her normal position during serious meetings like this was looking to be, Sirius lifted his hand to catch her wrist.

She turned to look at him in confusion, ignoring the minor tingling in her arm from his touch. Sirius gazed at her for several seconds before tugging her down to sit next to him on the two person sofa. Hermione was so startled by this that she allowed herself to remain where she was, appearing almost oblivious to the surprised looks and the suspicious glare she was receiving from the DA and Molly respectively.

"Now," Molly cleared her throat several minutes later, turning her attention to look at Severus who sat opposite Hermione and Sirius in a lone chair, "The reason I have asked you here Severus," she started, "Was first and foremost to ask you on Hermione's behalf to brew her a batch of dreamless sleep potions."

Hermione and Severus simultaneously raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Molly, revealing to a slightly jealous Sirius that they had spent much time together at some point.

"That would be quite pointless Molly," Severus drawled, leaning back in his chair and looking bored, before turning his eyes to Hermione, "For I personally taught Miss Granger how to brew that potion some time ago and to the best of my knowledge she has been brewing it for herself over the last four years or so."

All eyes turned to Hermione, causing her own eyes to widen before slamming shut in a small grimace.

"Is this true Hermione?" Molly asked, shocked.

Hermione slowly peeled her eyes open, "Um," she started before taking a deep breath, "Yes," she resigned herself to explaining, "I came to Severus months after the war to ask him to teach me how to brew a few potions, the dreamless sleep was one of them. I've known how to brew it since then, however, it is a little known fact that the Dreamless Sleep potion is very addictive; something we…_I_ discovered after a few months of using it," Hermione ignored the pointed looks she was receiving from the DA, it had in fact been Draco who had discovered the addictiveness of the potion, but she wasn't going to let them go down with her if she could help it.

Molly gave a small scoff and looked around at the others in the circle, "Yes the potion _is_ addictive, but only if taken frequently—as in every night," Molly shook her head at Hermione in a consternating way, clearly believing Hermione was just being overly cautious.

Hermione frowned back at Molly, "Which is exactly what was happening," she replied, a bit of sharpness in her tone.

Clearly recognizing the bite in Hermione's voice Molly sat up straighter, as if in an attempt to assert her authority, "Why on earth would you do such a thing?" she demanded, "If you knew it was dangerous, why would you take it unnecessarily every night?"

"Because it _was_ necessary," Hermione snapped, her eyes narrowing as she began to grow defensive.

Sirius felt her tense up beside him and tried to convey some sort of comfort to her without touching her. His eyes rested on her, noticing the dark emotions in her eyes just below the surface, and worriedly he reached out his arm to wrap around her shoulders as he decided that touch may be exactly what she needed. Seconds before he rested his arm on her though, he thought better of it and simply stretched his arm along the back of the sofa, gently trailing his fingers through the few free short hairs on the nape of her neck for a second in a calming motion.

Hermione shot him a quick glance, her eyes softening momentarily before her gaze hardened once more as she turned to look at the mother bear in front of her, who with all her over protectiveness had apparently buried any hint that Hermione, or anyone her age for that matter, had any cause for nightly terrors as apparent by her next words, "You can't possibly be having nightmares every night," Molly frowned and shook her head, "What could you possibly have to dream about that would be horrible enough to bother your dreams every night?"

Eyes narrowed, spine stiff, and temper boiling, Hermione stared at Molly Weasley, momentarily contemplating whether the woman was actually serious or not. Finally coming to the conclusion that she was, in fact, _very_ serious, Hermione looked at the other older members of the Order to see if they thought as Molly did. She was surprised to find that many of them looked as if they agreed with Molly, as if they couldn't fathom Hermione having experienced anything worth having nightmares about; others looked simply confused. Sirius, Remus and Severus were the only three who didn't look as if they agreed with Molly in any way.

"What could I possibly have gone through to have nightmares?" Hermione clarified the question on everyone's mind, "I'm sorry; were you all _asleep_ during the war?" she demanded, her voice hard, "Because the last time I checked I had_ plenty _of experiences to have nightmares about!"

Molly's face began to grow red as Hermione snapped at her, "Of course we weren't _asleep_ we were all just as involved in the war as you were young lady, but none of _ us_ have continuous nightmares!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, "Really," she scoffed with heavy disbelief, not noticing the smirk that had spread across Severus' face, or the winces that both Hermione and Sirius had given upon Molly's comment, "You were just as involved in the war as I was," it wasn't a question, it was a statement full of mocking, "So you're telling _me_ that everything I have been through since my _first year _ at Hogwarts," she paused for a split second, "None of that even _compares_ to the rough and horrible times _ you_ had to go through?" Hermione gave a humorless laugh, "Are you daft?"

Several people gasped at this, Hermione had never spoken with such disrespect to anyone, let alone someone clearly older than she was, but here she was insulting Molly Weasley, the one woman who was most like a mother to her in the wizarding world. But Hermione was just getting started.

Now on the edge of her seat, fighting not to launch to her feet in irritation Hermione remained rigidly where she was, "Tell me _Mrs. Weasley_," the name was used to distance herself from Molly and she knew it, but it was about time that everyone finally understood just what she, and potentially even the rest of the DA, had gone through, both throughout her years at Hogwarts and during the Hunt, "Have you ever come face to face with a three headed dog?" she asked, her words venomous but coming off politely.

Molly's face paled, "What?" she asked weakly, "Of course not, three headed dogs are incredibly rare, why would you ask such a thing?"

"Because I have," Hermione responded sweetly, "Several times; and his name was Fluffy!" this last part was added with a tone of incredulousness before Hermione sobered again, "How about a mountain troll, have you ever faced one of them? Because I have, Harry, Ron, and I took one down in our _first year_! Have you ever been caught in a patch of Devil's Snare? Or have you ever played a giant game of Wizarding Chess with yourself as one of the pieces, watching as your best friend strategizes a way to keep you safe by nearly getting himself killed? Have you ever been faced with a potion riddle, that if solved incorrectly could leave you incapacitated, or worse, _dead_, yet still having no other choice but to solve it so that your other best friend could go on to keep _Voldemort_ from getting the _Philosopher's Stone_?"

Hermione took a deep breath, ignoring the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. The DA was surprised to see her reacting so harshly to a few inconsiderate words, the Order on the other hand seemed simply stunned that Hermione had gone through all of that.

"And that was just my first year," Hermione stated in a low voice, "My second year I spent my time either in the library researching the Chamber of Secrets and Salazar Slytherin, or in the infirmary, petrified by a _Basilisk_, another creature I'm sure you've never encountered before. My third year was spent discovering that Remus was a werewolf, Sirius was not only a murderer, but Harry's godfather, and then that Peter Pettigrew was still alive and Sirius _wasn't _a murderer and then that Ron's rat, an animal _you_ harbored, for the record, was the real Marauder responsible for James and Lily's deaths," she paused for a millisecond, "Tell me Molly have you ever stood face to face with a full grown werewolf when it wasn't under the influence of the Wolvesbane?"

Remus winced as several people turned to look at him, but Hermione didn't give anyone a chance to answer her question, "Have you ever had to watch as the man you just found out was innocent and perfectly capable of taking Harry away from the _horrible_ people he had grown up with, shift into an animal and fight not just for his own life, but for yours as he fought said werewolf? Have you ever used a time turner?" Hermione asked bluntly, ignoring Minerva's suddenly warning eyes, "Have you ever called a werewolf in an attempt to save your friends life, not expecting it to work only to see your life flash before your eyes when it does? Have you ever watched as one or more dementors sucked the soul out of your best friend, not once, but _twice_?"

"How about my fourth year where I was hounded by Victor Krum," here it became a little apparent that Hermione was losing it a little, "at first I was flattered, naturally who wouldn't be, but then he turned into this nasty evil little-," Hermione took a deep breath and cut herself off, pretending not to notice the deepening of Sirius' frown as she described Krum, "He asked me to the ball several times, each time I turned him down, at first it was because I just had this nagging feeling that I shouldn't, then as I kept turning him down, he kept getting meaner and meaner until one night just before curfew I was grabbed by him and slammed against the wall with his arm choking off my air supply," all of this was said in a long breath and she paused to breathe.

"I said yes that time," Hermione's voice was much slower and quieter now while she shook her head and fiddled with her fingers briefly, obviously remembering, "But then Dumbledore, the idiotic git," Hermione ignored the gasps from all who weren't DA members or Severus, "came up with the _brilliant_ idea to hand me over to the mermaids as Krum's 'kidnap victim'."

Hermione looked around for a second before returning her eyes to Molly, "I wonder what plan exactly Dumbledore had to extract those of us who were down there should the champions fail to retrieve us?" she mockingly thought out loud, "Mermaids aren't exactly notorious for their trustworthiness. Or perhaps you will recall certain articles written about me, by a certain somebody? You know, the ones you lectured me about for hours on end, after a rather long period of loathing, by none other than yourself, Molly, one of the few people I had thought for _sure_ would know me better than that!" Hermione paused, watching Molly's face droop in an apologetic way, but she didn't give her time to explain, "But then Voldemort returned, and I watched as Harry brought Cedric back, dead. Little known fact, but Cedric had been a rather close friend of mine, so to see him dead, the first victim of Voldemort's second war…" Hermione trailed off.

The room was silent for a few minutes as Hermione gathered her emotions, "I don't think you can even _begin_ to fathom what my fifth year was like," she stated shaking her head, "A woman so _evil_ she could have potentially put Voldemort to shame simply because there was nothing we could do about it was running Hogwarts. Though the things we did do about it, things I assure you were _absolutely necessary_ I seem to recall you being quite vehemently against. Things like Dumbledore's Army, a group without which the defeat of Voldemort and the ultimate capture of his followers would have been far more difficult than I care to imagine; or the absolutely brilliant pranks your sons invented, I had to pretend to condemn them, but because of them spirits in the school were lifted significantly."

Hermione's fingers absently traced the back of her left hand where she had glamoured away the scars that remained from that year, "Tell me Molly, have you ever written with a blood quill?"she asked viciously, watching as whatever blood remained in Molly's face faded, "I thought not," she murmured, a small humorless smirk on her lips as she silently and wandlessly removed the glamour on her hand, "I must not be such a know-it-all," she stated clearly, lifting her hand to show the marred skin there to everyone who could see, "I can never forget what the toad lady put us through," she lowered her voice and her hand, "and you will _never_ be able to understand that."

"When was the first time you fought against Death Eaters Molly?" Hermione paused, "Any of you actually, because _my_ first fight was when I was sixteen in my fifth year, and again in my sixth year when they attacked Hogwarts and Dumbledore's _insane_ plan was put into action as he died. How many of you know what a Horcrux is?" Hermione was fully aware that other than the DA no one else was aware of the full extent of what had led to the ultimate destruction of Voldemort.

Minerva frowned, "What do Horcruxes have to do with this Miss Granger?" she asked pointedly, a hint of warning in her voice telling Hermione not to go into specifics.

"Voldemort had six of them," Hermione stated bluntly, "That's what they have to do with this, _Professor_," Hermione replied in the same tone, "And Dumbledore wanted us to find them. Harry had already destroyed one in the form of Tom Riddle's diary in his second year with a basilisk fang, and Dumbledore ultimately destroyed another in the form of Marvolo's ring in our sixth year. Just before Dumbledore died he and Harry had just found a third in the form of Slytherin's locket, or so they thought. It turned out to be a copy that Regulus Black had made when he stole the original. Our job was to then find and destroy the remaining four horcruxes, including the locket."

Hermione looked back at Molly, "That summer you tried so desperately to keep Harry, Ron and I from being alone together to plan was spent planning anyway, right under your nose. Fred, George, and Ginny were all in on it, they knew what we had to do so they helped any way they could. We enjoyed the few moments we had at the wedding party before the Death Eaters attacked, and then we were running, hiding, searching, hoping, trying to do _anything_ we could to _just_ _stay_ _alive_ and out of the reach of the ministry. The only clues we had came from Dumbledore, who rather than just coming right out and saying what he needed to say, was naturally overly cryptic and full of riddles.

"Ultimately we figured out that Dung had given Umbridge Slytherin's locket, sending us on a mission into and out of the ministry to retrieve the locket. That accomplished we went into hiding in the woods, carrying a piece of Voldemort's soul with us, around our necks. The influence that small locket had over you was…there are no words for it," Hermione shook her head, looking honestly at a loss of how to describe it, "It got into your head and made you feel things, things you never wanted to feel, want things you would never want, act ways you would never act," she snuck a look at Ron who had ducked his head to look at the floor.

"But eventually we destroyed it," Hermione said with a shrug as if pretending it was no big accomplishment, "After nearly getting eaten by Nagini of course," she added with a tilt and bob of her head, "but then we were captured."

"Hermione," Draco started, intending to tell her to stop telling the story, seeing the sudden pain in her eyes the second the capture was brought up.

Hermione shook her head at him, "No Draco," she replied, "Molly wanted to know what I have to have nightmares about, so I'm going to tell her," Hermione then returned her focus to Molly, "I managed to cast a stinging hex on Harry that made his face nearly unrecognizable just before we were caught on the off chance that we wouldn't be recognized, but we were and as a result we were taken to Malfoy Manor," several eyes moved to glare at Draco, who simply glared back, not saying anything.

"There Bellatrix asked Draco if he could positively identify Harry as being the Boy-Who-Lived, Draco said he couldn't, and we were nearly all sent to the dungeons, but then Bellatrix discovered Gryffindor's sword in my bag. She was outraged, and she demanded to know where we got it. I was her first target, she figured she could torture me, and either I would give in or they would," Hermione nodded her head in Harry and Ron's direction.

After several suspenseful moments as everyone waited for Hermione to continue, Sirius looked over and saw Hermione staring vacantly ahead. She was clearly caught up in the memories of that day, the entirety of which Sirius was beginning to suspect no one really knew but her. Gently he reached out and smoothed some loose hairs off the back of her neck before resting his hand comfortingly between her neck and shoulder with his arm around her back.

Hermione bit her lip for a moment as she got caught up in the screams and terror and pain from that day, unaware of Sirius actions and the obviously uncomfortable silence around her. Finally she looked up, her eyes watery, "Have you ever been under the Crucio curse so long you thought you would go insane?" she asked softly, her eyes hard, "Or have you had a jagged knife tare through your skin as people _laugh_ at your pain?" Hermione waved her hand quickly and all the glamours covering her body receded leaving the scars on her arms and some of her chest and shoulders visible, "Have you ever had the one word you despise more than any other _carved_ into your skin so that you can _never _forget that you will never be viewed as an equal by some people?"

Her whole body trembled, both from her memories and barely suppressed anger, "Have you ever been raped?" this caused gasps to occur all over the room, from everyone but Draco, even Severus looked moderately surprised to hear this, "Then once you finally escape the house of nightmares and torture you have to turn right around and break into Gringotts, impersonating the very same woman that tortured you for hours on end," a dry sob shook Hermione's body, but she refused to let the tears fall, "You _were_ there at the Final Battle, you know how bad it was, but you will _never_ experience half the things I went through," Hermione tried to still her trembling, "So I am quite certain that I have _plenty _ of things to dream about that would give me nightmares _every night for the last four years_."

Hermione stopped and attempted to slow her breathing and calm her emotions; her mouth opened and closed several times as if she was debating with herself whether or not to say anything more before she finally just shook her head and fell back to the back of the sofa, unintentionally causing Sirius' arm to tighten around her shoulders.

Silence reigned as everyone absorbed the words Hermione had spoken in grave shock. Eventually Molly decided to brave the silence and ask the other question that had been on her mind all night, in an attempt to cover her earlier blunder, "What about the rest of you?" she eyed the DA members carefully, "Why didn't any of you come to Ginny and Hermione's room last night? You can't _all_ still be having nightmares like this."

"Really?" Hermione snapped, lurching forward and upwards to her feet, "You already inserted your foot in your mouth with _astounding_ idiocy, you really want to continue?" Molly's face was turning red in embarrassment and anger but Hermione pressed on, "Why can't they all still be having nightmares, each and every one of them played a larger part in the war than you did."

This time it was Arthur who tried to stop Hermione, "Now wait a minute young lady—"

"No!" Hermione plowed on with a glare at Arthur, "If you _dare_ try and deny that fact I won't be held responsible for my actions. I mean honestly, how could you even think…" Hermione trailed off as she shook her head at the group of adults she had once admired, "Harry grew up in a household were there was nothing but abuse and hate directed at him. He came to Hogwarts, his first opportunity to be just a normal kid and fit in, and Dumbledore allows him to go on some ridiculous scavenger hunt that very well could have killed both him and his friends! It was that way a_ll throughout_ our years at Hogwarts, Dumbledore allowed the three of us to get away with way too much," Hermione gave Severus a nod of acknowledgement, "At least Severus seemed to recognize that."

Hermione pointed at Draco next, "Draco has been through much more than any of us are even aware of. He sacrificed _everything_ to make sure that Voldemort didn't win, but only after falling prey to both Voldemort and Dumbledore's plans. His family disowned him for what he did; he lost friends and family too! And Neville," Hermione moved her finger to point, "He grew up without his parents because they'd been _tortured_ into _insanity_ by the most insane woman to have ever walked the earth! He was picked on and bullied in school, yet somehow, by seventh year, despite the atrocities that were occurring endlessly around him, he managed to step up and be the leader the Hogwarts students needed.

"Luna spent those dark days with her time split between Voldemort's version of Hogwarts, and Malfoy Manor; neither situation a pleasant one! Dean spent the dark days on the run from snatchers, while you," Hermione flung her arm in Molly's direction, "Stayed at home and worried. You were never in danger the way any of them have been," again Hermione gestured to the DA members, "But then there's the question of your own children. What could _they _have possibly gone through right?"

By this point all eyes seemed to be permanently attached to Hermione's form, still shaking in nearly unreasonable fury, "Did you ever acknowledge the sheer _bravery_ it took for the twins to keep their store open for as long as they did? Have you ever thought about the things Ron was going through during his time on the run with Harry and me? And what in the name of Merlin's pet dragon were you thinking when you sent Ginny back to school? Laws aside, there really was no excuse."

Hermione shook her head and gave a sigh as the fury she had been feeling fled from her body, leaving her tired and worn out, despite only having woken up a few hours ago, "I know it's not something you all want to think about, but we haven't been kids for a long time. We have gone through things you can't even imagine. We are jaded, war weary veterans; I have no doubt that you have all seen your fair share of traumatic events, and I should not have discarded your contributions to the war like I did," she bowed her head at Molly for a moment, "I apologize for that, but _do not_ be so naive as to believe that we are unscarred by the war. We were _all_ right in the middle of it, and as difficult as it is for you to understand, we have every reason to have such continuous nightmares."

Roughly brushing away a stray tear, Hermione gave a small shake of her head and studied her toes for a moment, "I have tried everything to get rid of the nightmares, we all have, yet nothing works. I know you are concerned about us, but we have gone the last four years without you even noticing anything, so please, just butt out," with that Hermione turned on her heel and fled out of the room.

Sirius tensed as if to rise and follow her, but forced himself to remain seated, his eyes narrowed on the group of adults who were all looking stunned by everything they'd heard. Slowly his eyes moved over Remus and Snape to look at the younger generation, only to find that they were all looking at him with the same expression on their faces.

Confusion began to show on his face as he looked at Draco who was moving his head in some odd motion as if it actually meant something to him. When he still didn't move, Draco gave a visible sigh and suddenly, for the second time that day, a voice spoke in his mind, "_Go after her you idiot!"_

Narrowing his eyes once more in Draco's direction Sirius hesitated a moment more before deciding to listen to the younger man. He slowly rose to his feet, ignoring the suspicious gazes coming from some of the adults, and followed his princess out of the large room. Catching sight of Hermione turning at the top of the stairs, her hands covering her face and the muffled sound of her sobs, Sirius barely managed to resist returning to the Phoenix room to give them all a piece of his mind.

Coming to a stop outside Ginny and Hermione's door a few moments later he only hesitated a second before rapping softly on the door. He waited a moment, not long enough for her to get the door, but long enough for her to realize there was someone there before pushing the door open. From his position in the doorway he watched in silence as Hermione whirled around the room, picking up clothes and objects and depositing them on her bed in a messy pile that was completely unlike the witch.

"Going somewhere?" he asked quietly after a few minutes of watching her in contemplative silence.

Hermione spun around in surprise, dropping the royal purple dress she had in her hands to the floor, apparently she hadn't heard his knock, or had ignored it, "Sirius," she gasped, staring at him for another moment before reaching up and furiously brushing away a few tears before turning back around. Forgetting about the dress she'd dropped Hermione resumed furiously shoving the pile into a small beaded bag, "That went _so well_," she snapped, "I'm _so_ glad I listened to you Sirius!" she shoved more clothes into the bag.

Sirius decided to ignore her words for a minute as he walked further into the room, softly closing and warding the door behind him. Carefully he picked up the dropped dress and stepped closer to Hermione's frantically moving form. Silently Sirius extended the dress in his hand to a place where Hermione could see it. Sure enough Hermione reached out and snatched the dress from his hand, finally stilling for a second before she turned around abruptly to face him.

"I don't feel any better," she told him, accusing eyes glaring up at him, but as Sirius studied her he noted the hurt and minor betrayal in her lovely hazel eyes. She attempted to blink away her tears as she shook her head, "I never should have listened to you," she murmured, dropping her gaze.

Sirius reached out and carefully wiped away the tears that slid quietly down her cheeks, "You really don't feel _any_ better?" he asked softly, his eyes still searching her face for answers to some unasked question, "If nothing else, don't you feel better knowing you don't have to carry such a heavy secret all by yourself anymore?"

Hermione frowned as she returned her gaze to his, a bit of breathtaking fire returning to her morose expression, "I was just fine on my own!" she snapped, attempting to turn back around but finding herself stopped by Sirius' hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him defiantly only to falter when she caught sight of the care and concern in his gaze.

Unable to maintain their look Hermione took a forceful step back, breaking Sirius' grip on her shoulders. She returned to frantically shoving the clothes and objects into the bag in her hand, pretending not to notice the closeness of the man behind her. Sirius said nothing while she finished shoving everything that was in the pile on her bed into her bag, but she could feel the warmth radiating off his broad form just inches from her back and his gray eyes studying the back of her head intensely.

Finally picking up the last piece of clothing—an errant sock—she sighed and turned to look at Sirius, "Why was it so hard for them to believe me?" she asked timidly, the fight and anger slowly retreating. Slowly she fell softly to sit on the bed where she sat looking at her twisting and intertwining fingers as she waited for Sirius to answer her.

Sirius gave a dramatic sigh that significantly lifted the tension in the room before sitting next to her and wrapping his hand around hers, stilling her attempts to wring the life out of them, "They like to tell themselves that they had been strong enough, smart enough, to keep their children unscarred. You just messed up their entire hopeful, yet unrealistic fantasy. _Realistically_ they knew life for you lot wasn't easy, but _they_ needed to believe that you were all okay in order to be able to do what _they_ had to do," Sirius paused for a moment as he thought, "You remember the summer before your fifth year?" he asked her, "When Molly and the rest of the Order tried so hard to keep Harry and the rest of you out of and oblivious to Order business?"

Hermione nodded, she remembered they had tried to keep them out of Order business, yet all that did was persuade them all to try and get involved anyway.

"I personally believed that was the wrong way to go about things. I thought the better informed you all were, the better protected and safety conscious you would be. Remus sometimes agreed with me, sometimes not, which I understood; there were definitely things out there that you lot weren't prepared for, and should never have had to be prepared for, but still things that I thought you should know for your own sakes. You were just kids, you shouldn't have to worry about the 'adult' things that we discussed in Order meetings; but you did anyway, despite our best efforts, and it placed you all in even more danger than it would have had you been kept informed. You faced the Order's problems without even really knowing what you were doing."

Sirius went quiet for a minute before speaking again, "You all grew up too fast, and they," he gestured towards the door, "like to pretend like you didn't, like they'd somehow managed to shield you from the worst of the things you were never supposed to know about. But today you disillusioned them; they can no longer see themselves or any of you in the same way again. You placed yourself on the same level as them, when it comes to war experiences, perhaps even higher. Being forced to face that was a change none of us wanted to have to consider, yet one that I believe is for the best."

Sirius smiled down at her and squeezed her hand, "While you may not think what you did today will benefit anyone, just remember, foundations with the most support are stronger than those without," Sirius moved his hand from where it rested on top of hers to wrap his arm firmly around her shoulders, "What you did today took more courage than many could have shown, and it needed to be done, it needed to be said. You may very well have saved yourself and the others unnecessary pain somewhere down the road—not today or tomorrow, per say—but someday."

The two sat in silence for a while after Sirius' baritone had faded; Sirius wondering if he'd said too much too soon, and wondering if his words had had any impact on her whatsoever, while Hermione mulled over his words, her mind fighting to ignore the shocks his arm was sending through her shoulders and down her back.

"But why me?" she finally muttered, "Why did I have to be the one to tell them everything?"

Sirius gave a small shrug, "If not you, than who? Who else would you have go through that in your place? Who else _could_ with such preciseness and strength?"

Hermione contemplated this, opening and shutting her mouth several times as if to give an answer before sighing, "When did you become so smart Sirius?" she asked with a small smile, being one of the few people who actually knew how truly intelligent Sirius was.

With a small chuckle Sirius winked at her, "I have my moments," he joked, "But don't tell anyone," his voice lowered and he leant his head closer towards her, his lips millimeters from her ear as he spoke.

Hermione gave a small nervous laugh, as she halfheartedly suppressed a shiver at the feeling of his warm breath on her ear. To cover up the small movement her body made while goose bumps rose across her skin, she gave a small sigh and rested her head on his shoulder with a yawn, "I guess all that talking and anger made me tired," she murmured, relaxing further into Sirius' side, feeling far more comfortable in her current position than she had ever felt anywhere else that she could remember.

Sirius waited for her to move from her place at his side to go lay down in a more comfortable position on the bed, but to his surprise and pleasure, she never did. He knew he should probably leave her to her nap and go do some damage control downstairs; but something kept him there at Hermione's side.

"Well come on then," he softly replied, coming to a decision. His heart in his throat, Sirius gently pulled Hermione down until they were both laying side by side with his arm under her head. Sirius held his breath as he waited for Hermione's reaction to their small move only to be unable to hide his large grin as Hermione moved from where she rested with her back on the mattress to place her head on his chest nuzzling her forehead into the spot where his neck and shoulder connected while her hand stretched across his chest to rest above his now rapidly beating heart.

Realizing that the younger woman was already asleep, Sirius took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, and settled himself a bit more comfortably on her bed. He laid there a moment, staring up at the ceiling, only startling for a moment when Hermione wrapped one of her legs around his and snuggled closer. With a soft smile he bent his head a little to press a kiss to her head and raised the hand that wasn't wrapped tightly around Hermione's shoulders to rest on top of the hand that rested on his chest, before loosely entwining their fingers. Feeling more content than he'd ever been with a woman, Sirius took in one last deep peaceful and contented breath as he closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

**Z-z-z-z-z-z-Z**

**So that was it for this chapter! Hope it wasn't too disappointing. Let me know what you think! Review please!**


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